Anti-crime Commission Appointed

August 9, 1977

JERUSALEM (Aug. 8)

An ad hoc commission appointed by Police Inspector General Haim Tavori will study the scope of crime in Israel and suggest ways and means to combat it. Interior Minister Yosef Burg said yesterday in a television interview he hoped the commission would conclude its work within two weeks to allow for a thorough working plan in the fight against crime.

The commission, headed by Michael Buchner, chief of the special operations unit at the Police General Headquarters, was the latest development in the current public clamor over organized and unorganized crime. The commission reportedly will enjoy a free hand in carrying out its work. It was stressed that it would also inquire outside of the police force in order to get a thorough look at the criminal system.

Burg said that once he receives the report of the commission he will decide whether to support the creation of a public committee to investigate organized crime. Such a committee should be headed by an independent non-political figure, “perhaps a judge,” Burg said, implying he was against a parliamentary commission.

The apparent readiness of the Interior Ministry and the police to shift gears as far as anti-crime action is concerned, was the first practical result following the top level consultations last Friday between Burg and Tavori in Jerusalem. Tavori said in a radio interview yesterday he would transfer police officers from administrative work to anti-crime operations.